Combination of elongated fabric and package for same



H. J. ABRAMSON Aug. 18, 1964 COMBINATION OF ELONGATED FABRIC AND PACKAGE FOR SAME 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 7, 1960 l 39 I Harvey J. f f on J BY M 7}. MW

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Aug- 18, 1964 H. J. ABRAMSON COMBINATION OF ELONGATED FABRIC AND PACKAGE FOR SAME Filed Dec. 7, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 f/rmzy =I% BY W @1295 Aug. E8, 1964 H. J. ABRAMSON 3,144,933

COMBINATION OF ELONGATED FABRIC AND PACKAGE FOR $AME Filed Dec. 7, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

Ha rug Jflbmmsan York Filed Dec. '7, 1960, Ser. No. 74,429 4 Claims. (Cl. 206-49) My invention relates to the art of packaging, and has to do more particularly with the packaging of an elongated fabric produced by knitting, netting, weaving, etc., of spun textile fiber, and is especially adapted to the packaging of lace and similar materials.

In the merchandising of material of this character, certain problems are encountered because of the relatively fragile character of the material and also on account of the extensibility thereof, this being especially true in the case of lace and analogous materials. Such materials are difficult to measure because of the stretchability there of, and the sales person, in the course of measuring a specified length of the fabric, may dispense more or less than the exact length requested and paid for.

Furthermore, materials of this character are highly subject to soiling from the accumulation of dust on the store shelf as well as from handling in the normal dispensing of the goods, and may otherwise be damaged in the ordinary handling of the goods because of the inherent fragility thereof.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide a method and machine for packaging goods of this character which will eliminate the disadvantages above referred to, and also to provide a packaged product of the character hereinafter described.

In accordance with my invention, an elongated Web of fabric of the character referred to is enclosed within an elongated container coextensive in length with the web of fabric, said container being preferably formed of a thermoplastic film which is relatively thin and flexible and closed on opposite sides thereof. Preferably the container is formed of a pair of films disposed on opposite paurpm fiuo 11am snore ps eos pus onqe; oq go sap s edges to provide an elongated envelope which is substantially air-proof and dust-proof. In accordance with my invention at least one of said films is translucent or transparent in order that the goods may be clearly visible therethrough for inspection by the customer and by the sales person in the course of handling the goods, and one of the films is also darker in hue than the opposite translucent or transparent film, for reasons hereinafter to appear.

A further object of my invention is to provide a packaged article of the character described above which will be provided with linear measuring indicia along the entire length thereof so that, in the dispensing of the goods, it will be unnecessary to provide a yardstick or other measuring device, it being necessary only that the sales person measure off a given length as indicated by the aforesaid indicia imprinted on the package.

Another object is to provide a packaged article of the class described wherein the envelope is relatively fiat and thin and of substantially the same width as the enclosed fabric.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a machine which will operate continuously and automatically to practice the process of my invention and to produce a packaged article of the character described.

Various other objects and advantages will become ap parent as the description proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings forming a part of this specification and illustrating certain preferred embodiments of my invention,

EJ441333 Patented Aug. 18, 1964 FIG. 1 is an elevational view, more or less diagrammatic, of a machine embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of same;

FIG. 3 is an elevation taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevation taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a portion of a packaged web produced according to my invention, prior to the completion of the product;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the same product shown in FIG. 5, after completion thereof;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantially along the line 7-7 of FIG. 5;;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the finished product disposed on a reel and ready for dispensing;

FIG. 9 is a more-or-less diagrammatic elevation of another version of means for performing my invention, and

FIG. 10 is a section taken substantially along line 1tl10 of FIG. 9.

Referring first to FIGS. 5-8, inclusive, my invention contemplates a product comprising an elongated web of textile material, such as a lace or other fabric, indicated by the numeral 16}, within a flexible envelope 11 preferably formed of a pair of relatively thin films 12, 12 coextensive in length with the web of fabric 10 and sealed along the longitudinal edges thereof, as at 15, 15, whereby the finished packaged goods may be dispensed conveniently, as from a reel R (FIG. 8).

The films 12, 12' may be of any suitable thermo-plastic material, such as a polyethylene resin or any other suitable thermo-plastic resin available on the market, such material being relatively inexpensive and highly durable. These films may be colorless or colored, as desired, and at least one of them should be transparent or at least translucent in order that the character of the fabric 11) may be seen therethrough.

It is also desired that at least one of said films 12, 12 will have imprinted or embossed thereon a clearly legible series of indicia representing units of length, such as inches and fractions thereof, or other generally recog nized units of linear measurement, as indicated at 17 in FIG. 6. Other intelligence may also be applied to the envelope 11, such as a trademark, name of manufacturer or retailer, etc.

It will be readily apparent that in the merchandising of goods of this character, loaded reels as seen in FIG. 8 may be carried on an open shelf without risk of deterioration from atmospheric dust, humidity or other damaging elements. When called for by a customer, the goods may be readily displayed from such reels without handling the fabric itself, as the contents will be visible through envelope 11. After selection of a given fabric, the sales person needs merely to count off the desired length of packaged material without the need for any measuring implement and, it being already packaged in such manner as to preserve the fabric from damage, the packaged material may be dispensed without any special regard for preservation thereof, as by merely inserting same into a paper bag or the like. In contradistinction, where such a material is not so packaged, special care must be taken in the folding, packaging and otherwise handling of the goods in order to prevent soiling and otherwise damaging the fabric.

The films 12, 12 are of minimum thickness consistent with required strength and the envelope 11 Will have a width as nearly as possible equal to that of fabric 10. Thus, the packaged product occupies a minimum of space.

Turning now to FIGS. 1-4, inclusive, the numeral 20 lndicates a roll of lace or other elongated fabric desired to be packaged, wound on a spindle 21. Said spindle and roll may be rotatably mounted in any suitable manner, as on trunnions carried by parallel arms 22 of a suitable frame. A roll 23 of thermo-plastic resin film of the character described above is similarly mounted in a pair of parallel arms 25 carried by said frame and another roll 24 of such film is rotatably mounted in a pair of parallel arms 26 carried by the same frame.

Thus, the web of fabric which it is desired to package is introduced between films 12 and 12' from the rolls 23 and 24, respectively, the web and two films being fed within the nip of a pair of feed rolls 27, 27. Motive power for feeding these materials is provided by a suitable prime mover such as an electrical motor 30.

In the course of feeding the fabric web 10 between the two films 12 and 12' of thermo-plastic resin, the latter is subjected to means 35 for simultaneously cutting and heat-sealing the two films together along their longitudinal edges, as indicated at 15, (FIGS. 6 and 7), thus producing a package of uniform width completely sealed along the edges thereof so as to inhibit the entry of dust and other foreign material.

The packaged material so obtained is fed to a take-up roll 39 and in this condition is ready to be wound onto reels R for merchandising.

It will be seen that I have provided a packaged product which is extremely attractive from the standpoint of both the merchant and the customer. By reason of the reduction of waste and deterioration in the lace or other fabric I am able to accomplish a saving which can be passed on to the customer in the form of reduced cost of the packaged material. Furthermore, the attractive packaging of the goods facilitates the display thereof, resulting in increased sales, thus further contributing to a lowered price.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, one of the films of thermo-plastic material is colored while the other film is preferably clear and transparent, such as water-white. It is contemplated that one film will be darker than the other and colored, so that in the display and dispensing of the packaged fabric the colored or darker film will be disposed on the bottom and thus the goods may be seen and inspected. from the top through the transparent and lighter colored film. The bottom film, of course, may be either opaque or translucent but, at any rate, forms a relatively dark background against which the fabric may be inspected and also facilitates measurement of the desired length of material. The indicia of linear measurement and other intelligence may, of course, by applied to eitherof the films but is preferably visible from the top or lighter colored film, regardless of which one of the films the indicia may be applied to. Preferably, the imprinted matter is applied to the film through which the fabric will normally be inspected.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 and 10, I show here diagrammatically another arrangement of means for packaging lace or other fabric in accordance with my invention.

The numerals 50, 50' indicate spools of lace or other fabric of the character contemplated by my invention, one of which spools will be employed at a time as a source of fabric 10 to be fed between films 12, 12' drawn from spools 52, 52, the fabric 10 being first passed over a flanged roller 55 or the like for aligning it directionally. After one of the spools 50 has been exhausted, the other spool 50' may immediately be started, in order that there may be no delay in the operation, and the exhausted spool will then be replaced.

The three webs 10, 12 and 12' will be drawn between a pair of pinch rolls 57, 57' for the purpose of maintaining the three webs in juxtaposition, and after passing them under an idler roll 60 for preventing any slack, the three webs are then passed under heated cutting and sealing wheels 63 cooperating with a roll 65, whereby the films 12 and 12' are marginally sealed and trimmed.

The packaged fabric 11 is then fed around the drive roll 70, actuated by a suitable source of power M onto a take-up reel 75, the extraneous material 67, 67 being eliminated as waste.

Various changes coming within the spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art; hence, I do not wish to be limited to the specific embodiments shown and described or uses mentioned, but intend the same to be merely exemplary, the scope of my invention being limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a continuous elongated web of textile fabric and a package enclosing the same comprising a continuous envelope of a pair of flexible films, the films of said pair being disposed on opposite sides of said web and sealed to each other along both their longitudinal edges, said films being coextensive in length with said web, said envelope being relatively thin and fiat, at least one of said films being translucent, said other film being darker than said one film.

2. A combination according to claim 1, wherein one of said films carries indicia of length.

3. The combination of a continuous elongated web of textile fabric and a package enclosing the same comprising a continuous envelope of a pair of flexible films, the films of said pair being disposed on opposite sides of said web and sealed to each other along both their longitudinal edges, said films being coextensive in length with said web, said envelope being relatively thin and flat, one of said films being translucent and the other of said films being of a different color so as to form a contrasting background with said web to facilitate the viewing of said web with said translucent film nearer the eye.

4. A combination as in claim 3, wherein said other film is subsequently opaque.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,188,588 Waite June 27, 1916 2,160,367 Maxfield May 30, 1939 2,260,064 Stokes Oct. 21, 1941 2,688,829 Geifroy et al. Sept. 14, 1954 2,773,285 Piazze et al Dec. 11, 1956 2,962,157 Meister Nov. 29, 1960 3,045,891 Alvarez July 24, 1962 

1. THE COMBINATION OF A CONTINUOUS ELONGATED WEB OF TEXTILE FABRIC AND A PACKAGE ENCLOSING THE SAME COMPRISING A CONTINUOUS ENVELOPE OF A PAIR OF FLEXIBLE FILMS, THE FILMS OF SAID PAIR BEING DISPOSED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID WEB AND SEALED TO EACH OTHER ALONG BOTH THEIR LONGITUDINAL EDGES, SAID FILMS BEING COEXTENSIVE IN LENGTH WITH SAID WEB, SAID ENVELOPE BEING RELATIVELY THIN AND FLAT, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FILMS BEING TRANSLUCENT, SAID OTHER FILM BEING DARKER THAN SAID ONE FILM. 